Prehistoric Art

Prehistoric art (25,800 b.c.–1200 b.c.) refers to art by the earliest pre-literate societies which is usually divided into three separate periods—Paleolithic Period, Mesolithic Period, and Neolithic Period—based on the degree of sophistication in the fashioning and use of tools ("Stone Age | Definition, Tools, Art, & Facts"). Prehistoric refers to the time before recorded history as these societies did not have a written language yet.

This art provides the first building blocks of art history. These artifacts give us crucial insights into the origin of image and craft-making; they take the form of tools and small objects, as well as a select few architectural ruins.

Art from this period was a powerful form of communicating information between tribes and generations ("Prehistoric Art | Artsy").

Key vocabulary of paleolithic art

• Negative silhouette: When an artist covers part of a surface but identifies the area surrounding it to illuminate the shape. (fig. 1)

• Modeling: In painting and drawing, producing a 3D effect by changes in color, the use of light and shade (fig. 2).

• Composite: An image formed by combining different images or different views of the subject (fig. 3).

• Figurine a small carved or molded figure ( fig. 4).

Key vocabulary of Neolithic art

• Oven- Fired Pottery: The process of heating clay to permanently fuse together into ceramic in a high temperature environment (fig. 1).

• Megaliths: From the Greek mega, meaning "big" and lithos, meaning "stone" , a huge stone used to construct a structure or monument (fig. 2).

• Post and Lintel A basic system of construction in which 2 or more uprights (the posts), support a horizontal member (the lintel) (fig. 3).